Tekken Dark Resurrection Online Playtest

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Going online with Namco's prized fighter.

By Anoop Gantayat

Virtua Fighter 5 is going to feature online fights on the Xbox 360. Boo-hoo for PS3 fighting fans? Not if you get your kicks from Namco's take on the genre. Bandai Namco delivered an online version of Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection to the Japanese PlayStation Store this past week, well before VF5's online debut. We made the download to see how the classic series holds up over the 'net (and to make sure we're best prepared for when the VF versus Tekken flame wars heat up later this year).

Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection Online is an updated version of one of last year's big PS3 surprises, the PlayStation Network version of Dark Resurrection. The update adds a practice mode and an online battle mode to what was already a feature-filled downloadable game. For those who already have the original version, Bandai Namco is charging just 1,000 yen for the update; those who've waited until now for their high def Tekken can purchase the full title, online play and all, for 2,800 yen (and, if you don't care for online play, the offline version is still available at a cost of 2,000 yen).

The main attraction for the update is, of course, the online mode. Bandai Namco has put together a basic online combat mode that, while not as elaborate as the play space Tecmo put together for Dead or Alive 4 a couple of years back, gets the job done if all you want to do is face off in online matches.

Select the online play mode from the main menu, and you're given your choice of matchmaking options. Opti match lets you find tournament rooms that match your player level, as determined by your current rank. Quick match does a full search of all rooms, regardless of level. If you're a bit pickier, you can select a custom match, which lets you specify a particular level or search for rooms based off availability of voice chat. Finally, those who want to play exclusively with their friends can use the friend match option to send out a direct invite.

The battle room

Select any of these matching options, and the game searches for a suitable room. We averaged just a few seconds before a list of available rooms appeared. Prior to entering a room, you're given information on number of players and signal strength.

If you feel like a true king of iron fist, you can make your own room. The game lets you set round count, round time, maximum number of players to allow into the room (up to 8), and toggle voice chat off or on. You can also set aside a few slots exclusively for your friends. As room master, you also have the ability to kick players out, which is always fun.

Once you get into a room, things are pretty bare bones. The interface lists all players in the room in order of upcoming fights, with the current champ placed at the top. Everyone takes turns facing off against the champ. When you're not fighting, you view a live feed of the current fight.

Viewing a live match

Inside an actual online fight, the Tekken 6 fighting engine seems to hold up pretty well. Playing from Japan against other players in Japan, we didn't notice much in the way of lag, although all the rooms we selected were listed as being full signal strength. We did get the occasional network error. The game jumps back to the title screen once this happens, but thankfully getting back into online mode takes only a few seconds.

Namco has implemented a few systems for dealing with people who manage to lose their connections frequently when in the heat of battle. Online rankings are determined by points earned as you win battles, but only battles flagged as a "House Rank" match count towards your total. Players who exit the battle early during these matches get a point penalty. Outside of the house rank option, the game lists the number of times a player has left a match due to a disconnect, so you can weed out the baddies on your own.

For those who face their defeats nobly, network rankings look like they could heat up. A ranking viewer is selectable from the main online menu. Rankings can be viewed by totals or by the current week's top performer. The game splits all rankings between Asia, America and Europe, although as the game is only available in Asia at the moment, the European and American rankings are currently empty.

The good and the bad of Dark Resurrection Online are apparent pretty quickly when you head into the game's online mode. The interface is pretty fast when going from the title screen all the way to a room, and the fighting engine holds up well. On the other hand, we're disappointed with the lack of options.

Still, as Namco's first attempt at Tekken online, and considering it costs just 10 bucks, Dark Resurrection Online is a great download for any fighting fan. At the very least, Namco's experience earned here should ensure a robust online mode for the home version of Tekken 6 next year.